Treatment for Sleep Conditions

Make an appointment. The rest is up to us.

Ask your doctor for a referral to the Baystate Regional Sleep Program and call 413-794-5600.

We may use several types of studies to diagnose and treat your sleep disorder. Our experienced sleep specialists evaluate the results of your study. Then we send the report to your referring doctor and discuss the results and treatment options with you during a follow-up appointment.

Tele-Sleep Appointments

We understand how difficult it can be to take time out of your schedule to come to your appointments. We also know it can be expensive. In order to provide the best care at the best value and consideration of your time, we not only offer face-to-face appointments, but also phone-call follow-ups, online CPAP data monitoring, and Baystate’s Patient Portal. These options ensure you get the best care as conveniently as possible.

Treatment Options

We will work with you to find the treatment that works best for you. Our recommendations and your treatment options will vary based on the type and severity of your sleep disorder, but may include:

Exercise regularly and early in the day -- this helps keep the body and mind healthy. (Avoid vigorous exercise activities right before bed.)

Make your bedroom a quiet, dark environment that is primarily a place for sleeping. Turn off all devices and screens to make it as dark as possible. Make the room cool or at a temperature conducive to sleeping. Hide your clock to avoid clock-watching, which can add stress.

Only try to sleep when you feel sleepy. If you are still awake after 20 minutes, get up and do a relaxing activity until you feel sleepy.

Keep a sleep log to help you identify problems or habits that prevent you from falling asleep.

Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP)

CPAP, or continuous positive airway pressure, opens your airway by blowing pressured room air through a mask you wear when you sleep. This helps improve your own breathing. Masks come in different shapes and sizes, including nasal pillows, nasal masks, and full-face masks that cover your mouth and nose.

There is sometimes an adjustment period for CPAP users, which gets easier with daily use. It’s common to pull off the mask in your sleep or wake up and have difficulty falling back to sleep with the mask on. Within a few weeks, most people can adjust and sleep comfortably. If you continue to have difficulty, talk to your doctor about adjusting your pressure or selecting a different mask style.

CPAP delivers a constant level of pressure as you breathe. By comparison, BiPAP, ASV, and VAPS deliver a higher pressure when you breathe in and a lower pressure when you breathe out. BiPAP provides the same pressures with every breath. ASV and VAPS continuously adjust the pressures based on your breathing pattern.

BiPAP may be helpful for patients who find the air pressure of CPAP uncomfortable. BiPAP and VAPS help increase the amount of air you breathe in and out, which can help certain conditions:

We provide timely access to high-quality care at the best value. That’s why we offer shared medical appointments (SMAs) for patients with obstructive sleep apnea.

A traditional office visit usually allows each patient 20-30 minutes with a provider. On the other hand, SMAs bring patients with common needs together with one or more health care providers at the same time. A shared appointment is 90 minutes long.

During a typical SMA, the team brings 5 to 15 patients together in a comfortable setting. Patients learn from the health care team and from each other. Our patients have been overwhelmingly satisfied with the program. They enjoy the opportunity to relate to others who deal with similar health issues, share stories, and ideas, and learn from one another.

During the shared visits, patients can also talk privately with the provider. And, a sleep technician works with each patient for CPAP and a mask fitting.

Some sleep disorders may benefit from medications that help you fall asleep or stay asleep. For certain conditions, medications can help you stay awake. If you have restless legs syndrome, we may recommend an iron supplement or other medications. Your doctor will talk with you about your options.